Pill splitters are common in the prior art, and are quite popular at the present time, especially because of the constantly increasing cost of prescription drugs, and the failure, or impossibility, of many users to obtain insurance which pays for much or all of their medication.
Many medications are marketed and priced in a variety of sizes in which the prices do not vary proportionately to the dosage. A pill splitter effective with Viagra pills, for instance, was the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 6,474,525. Viagra is marketed in three different dosages: 25, 50, and 100 mg, all three of which are sold at the same price. Thus, a user having a prescribed dosage of 50 mg. could halve the cost of his medication by purchasing half the number of 100 mg pills, and splitting them in half.
The present invention provides a family of pill splitters effective for splitting a number of pills which have different, complex shapes, and are thus problematic for use with prior art pill splitters. The invention further provides a method for economically manufacturing such a family, and for using a majority of common components.
Prior art pill splitters and cutters suffered from a number of failings. Among the most serious is the problem of contamination. When a single universal pill splitter is used to split a number of different pills, traces of the medication from one pill previously split can contaminate the medication contained in another pill split later. In the case when the medications in the two pills create an undesired, or contra-indicated reaction, the result can present a danger to the person taking the pills. This can be especially problematic when two or more people in a household are using the same pill splitter. The problem is even greater in the event that pills split by such a universal splitter are to be taken by young children. Dosages for adults are drastically different than those for children, and even small amounts of the residue of an undesired medication remaining on the pill splitter can be life threatening to a young child.
A second problem with many pill splitters is that they do not accurately split a pill in equal parts, resulting in unequal and inaccurately calculated dosages.
The present invention provides a configuration which solves both these problems. A separate splitter is provided for each different pill, and cannot be used for any other pill because of the incorporation of a pill bed which conforms to a single pill shape and cannot, by design, be used for any other pill.
The present invention further provides a method for manufacturing this novel configuration, requiring only molded three parts: a body, a plunger, and a bed, the bed being unique for each different pill shape, but the remaining components being identical regardless of the pill shape.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a configuration which facilitates the manufacture of a family of pill splitters economically and with a minimum number of parts. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method for manufacturing the family of pill splitters.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the pill splitter includes a bed having a recess formed within, the recess having a cross section which substantially conforms to the pill shape, and a bed support formed in the lower body of the pill splitter on which the bed rests.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, each bed further includes an upper face, a lower face, and edge supports for the pill, said edge supports formed in the lower face.
In accordance with a third aspect of the invention, a family of beds are included, each bed having a formed recess which accommodates a different specific complex pill shape.
In accordance with a forth aspect of the invention, each bed is substantially cylindrical in shape.
In accordance with a fifth aspect of the invention, each bed includes means for aligning the recess in the bed with a cutting blade in the body of the pill splitter.
In accordance with a sixth aspect of the invention, one or more guide tabs are formed in the bed which matingly engages linear plunger guide slots formed in the upper body of the pill splitter.
In accordance with a final aspect of the invention the cutting blade extends through the bed support, and wherein the bed includes a blade clearance relief which provides clearance between the cutting blade and the bed.